The Virgin Group on Sunday signed an “intent agreement” with Maharashtra to build a hyperloop transportation system between Mumbai and Pune, which aims to reduce the travel time between the two mega cities to 20 minutes from the three hours at present.

Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One, a startup backed by Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson to create ultra-high-velocity transportation solution on Thursday has signed a MoU with Karnataka government to conduct a feasibility study in Bangalore.

Mass rapid transportation technologies such as hyperloop, metrino and pod taxis could soon be a reality in India after Niti Aayog cleared half-a-dozen proposals of the transport ministry exploring options to improve public transport.

New Delhi to Mumbai via Jaipur and Indore in just 80 minutes. Or, Bengaluru to Chennai in 21 minutes. These transportation speeds can change the way India moves its people and cargo. While we will wait for the half-a-century old 300 kmph bullet train to be a reality, the 1,300 kmph plus future in transportation is already knocking at our doors.

Hyperloop One, which builds high-speed transportation between cities, has opened a vote on five potential routes in India. The five routes have been planned by teams from India who participated in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, which invited teams from across the world to submit viable transport plans for their regions that would benefit millions.